From the Cross to Joy: Ten Years Building the Faith
Since my daughter Christy returned to the arms of God in January 2018, each new year has brought me a profound mix of emotions. January stopped being just the beginning of a new calendar and became a reminder of the month when my heart broke… and, at the same time, when a new mission began.
I still remember those last Christmases: days filled with immense love, wrapped in silence and hidden tears. Our whole family had come from Colombia to be with us, not knowing that, more than celebrating Christmas, we were cherishing Christy’s final days. She was unwell; her health was fading, and time was slipping away. In those days, we shared memories that, without realizing it, would hold our hearts together for the rest of our lives.
They say that time heals all wounds, but I don’t feel that way. For me, time stopped that January. Not a day goes by without me thinking of Christy, without reliving the last embrace. A mother never fully heals from the loss of a child. Yet today, eight years later, I can say that amid the pain, I have found a joy that only the Holy Spirit can give.
That joy comes from seeing how Christy’s words became reality:
“My cancer is a good cancer, one that will bring an army closer to God.”
And how right she was. I have seen with my own eyes how her “good cancer” has touched lives in communities around the world. I have seen hope arise where it seemed there was none, and faith rebuilt in broken hearts. I have seen women arrive at a retreat shattered, feeling insignificant, and leave with a sparkle in their eyes that can only come from a personal encounter with God. I have seen priests in Ghana receive ordination in a church built thanks to the love and faith of people on the other side of the world. I have seen children in Colombia receive the sacraments for the first time, couples unite in marriage in Nicaragua, young people in Argentina receive spiritual guidance from sisters in their convent, and a community in Cameroon attend Palm Sunday Mass under the unfinished structure of their future church.
Each of these moments is a living testimony of what God can do when we say “yes.” As we begin this new year, 2026, my soul is filled not with nostalgia, but with celebration. This is a year of gratitude—the year in which Build the Faith, the nonprofit organization founded by our family and inspired by Christy’s unbreakable faith, celebrates its tenth anniversary. Ten years of accompanying souls, building churches, and bringing prayer into homes around the world; ten years of carrying Christy’s witness and faith to new hearts; ten years of seeing the fruits of pain transformed into love; ten years that testify to a God who is just, faithful, and near.
I clearly remember a conversation I had with Christy during a trip to Spain. She was crying because she felt she had no trophies to show at school, while her friends did. I told her, “The trophy you have is so special that it can only be seen from Heaven. Even if you can’t see it, you have earned your place in Heaven with all the souls you have brought closer to God through your ‘good cancer.’” She looked at me, hugged me, and said with a smile, “Then I don’t need any here on Earth.”
Since this beautiful legacy began, these have been years of pain, fear, and setbacks… but also years full of hope, faith, charity, and immense love.
I remember perfectly how Build the Faith began. One day, I told Christy that a priest in Colombia had no resources to build his church. She, with her pure heart, couldn’t believe there were children without a place to receive the Eucharist. Since she loved crafts, I suggested we make rosaries to sell and help the priest.
She loved the idea. And so, between chemotherapy sessions, she began making rosaries while sharing messages of faith, strength, and joy on her Facebook page. One day, she posted a video showing her first rosary, and within minutes, over 250 orders arrived. Unexpectedly, her small act of love had sparked something big. Family and friends joined in, and in a single weekend, we completed the first orders. Without realizing it, Build the Faith was born that day.
Rosary by rosary, prayer by prayer, with the support of God, our family, friends, priests, volunteers, schools, and benefactors, we built not only physical churches but a living community of faith.
Many times, we don’t take the first step because we think we don’t have enough time, resources, or preparation. But when we entrust our crosses, our strengths, and even our weaknesses to the Lord, He makes the impossible possible. This is how Build the Faith was born: from a suffering heart, a living work of the Holy Spirit emerged. From immense loss, a mission blossomed that continues to build hope around the world.
Today, my joy does not come from the absence of pain, but from seeing how God transforms every tear into life, every wound into testimony, and every cross into a bridge to Heaven.
Thank You, Lord, for allowing us to work by your hand to continue building the faith. Thank you to the Build the Faith community for your support. Thank you, my Christy, for teaching us that the greatest trophies are only seen from Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You.
Monica Lacouture was born and raised in Colombia, South America. She moved to the United States in 1995, where she and her husband, Fernando, married and were blessed with three children—Daniel, David, and Christina, whose unwavering faith became the inspiration behind Build the Faith.
Although raised Catholic and educated in parochial schools, Monica describes much of her adult life as that of a “lukewarm” Catholic. That changed unexpectedly in late 2012 when she attended a retreat and had a profound personal encounter with Jesus. She had no idea at the time how much she would come to rely on this renewed faith just three months later, when her daughter Christina was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Throughout Christina’s battle, Monica’s faith deepened, sustained by her daughter’s extraordinary trust in Jesus. In 2016, inspired by Christina’s unwavering faith, Monica and Fernando founded Build the Faith. As President of the organization, Monica feels blessed to carry forward Christina’s legacy, spreading faith and hope to others.
